Context Menu

Avengers (2016 series) #6

April 2017

Mark Waid, Michael Del Mundo

Story Name:

(no title given)

Reviews & Comments

Rating:

By Rob on April 23, 2017

Who ever understands time travel plots? The Avengers changed Kang's past so he wasn't able to build his time empire. But it still happened in *their* history, and he still had a fortress at the end of time to end up in. Now his whole future is 'imprisoned', but some of *that* future has also been experienced by the Avengers.

Immortus and Kang were originally seen as separate characters. Then in Giant-Size Av #3 we learned that Immortus was the future of Kang. But in the Av Forever limited series their identities were separated so that Kang now has his own future. Subsequent appearances have them as separate beings, or at least Marvel Wiki is able to construe them as such.
But now this issue reinstates Immortus as a future incarnation of Kang. This could possibly be yet another altered feature of the new post-Secret Wars III universe.

Scarlet Centurion was a very early version of Kang in Av Annual #2. There have been other Scarlet Centurions since then but none as future incarnations of Kang. But the 1 in this series is called such and gets imprisoned in the 'device' as part of Kang's future, so Kang must have reused the identity later as he did that of Rama-Tut.

Dr Doom's presence here is confusing. Fantastic Four Annual #2 claimed that Kang was a descendant of Doom. But What If #39 established that he was in fact descended from Reed Richards father Nathaniel who went to live in an alternate timeline. (And Kang was born Nathaniel Richards in honour of him.)
Neither of these origins say that Doom is a future incarnation of Kang. The only previous suggestion that this is true is *also* in FF An #2. After Kang has told Doom he is his descendant Doom speculates instead that they might be the same person at different points on their timeline. But neither of them can remember being the other so they are worried that if either of them dies it might wipe the other out of existence. This idea has previously been ignored, and I put it down to Stan Lee trying to blow the minds of impressionable kids.
Maybe Mark Waid is seriously bringing this idea back into action, but it doesn't really make sense. Doom has an established childhood which is a vital part of his story. He does disappear with Immortus and Centurion when Giant-Man hoovers up Kang's future. But on the other hand he isn't shown with them in the device at the end.

Avenger X was invented by Waid in the Avengers n.1 mini-series as an enemy of the team who pretended to join them. The Frightful Four buried her (alive?) at the end, and sarcastically gave her a tombstone which read "Here lies Avenger X bravest of us all". That inscribed tombstone has now materialised in the basement. A preview in our #1 showed the grave bursting open. #3 showed Kang being shocked because he'd never seen this before (presumably this is supposed to be because it only happens as a consequence of this whole storyline?).

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

This is the continuation from last issue of a 2-part explanation of how the Avengers accomplished the downfall of Kang the Conqueror depicted in #4.

The current team (Captain America (Sam Wilson), Hercules, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Thor (Jane Foster), Vision and Wasp (Nadia Pym)) with the help of a future version of the Vision recruited the help of 2 teams of Avengers from earlier times:- the founding group (Hulk, Giant-Man, Iron Man, Thor (Odinson) and Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)) and an 80's team (Black Knight, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), She-Hulk and Sub-Mariner).

With the Visions staying behind to monitor progress, the others split into 3 (different) teams to attack strategic parts of Kang's time-spanning empire. In Ancient Egypt BK, Cap(SW), Herc, Hulk and Spidey sought to destroy the cache of super-weapons stored in a pyramid by Kang when he was Rama-Tut I. CM, GM, Thor(JF), Thor(OS) and Wasp(JVD) went to planet Sacniaa where Kang's minions mine chronal energy. CA(SR), IM, Namor, Shulk and Wasp(NP) went to Kang's 1st empire on 4022 AD Earth. But they all ran into problems.

Meanwhile the Visions have an existential discussion. Future-Vision has survived to the end of time, and during that time his upgrades have replaced every part of him. So is he still the same 'person' as the current Vision. Our Vizh says they are still the same as long as his brain patterns are based on those of Simon Williams. But future-Vizh doesn't answer and changes the subject.

In 2948 BC Sam-Cap's team have planted a time bomb on a fusion reactor to destroy the pyramid. But warriors are firing a giant heat ray at them. This isn't really a problem for them as Hulk can destroy it. But it might set the reactor off before they can get everybody out. Hercules solves that problem by flushing the place out with a large water pipe. Cap activates the bomb with his flung shield and the team leg it.

The time bomb goes off destroying the pyramid. And the bomb's special timey-wimey nature feeds energy into the time tether that future-Vision has set up to link all 3 attacks to Kang's main base at the end of time.

In 7215 AD on Sacniaa Jane-Thor's team have destroyed the time-mining complex but 1 of the aliens has used a device to steal the future of the original Giant-Man and Wasp. This supposedly means there will be no Avengers. (OK, it wasAnt-Man and Wasp who suggested the idea of the team, but they've already done that.) So CM and the Thors start to fade away. (OK again, without the Avengers there might not be CM or Jane-Thor, but the Odinson already existed.)

Captain M somehow finds herself with Jarvis in Avengers Mansion. But it's still the Stark family home and he's never heard of her or the Avengers.

Back on Sacniaa the Thors merge their disintegrating Mjolnir's into 1 eternalo hammer and throw it to KO the alien. GM shrinks to ant-size and climbs inside the alien's gizmo. He reverses the polarity and everyone's back to normal. (And CM's back on the planet.)

This task didn't make use of their time-bomb. But now CM explodes it in midair to connect with the time tether.

In future North America Nadia-Wasp's team have been captured by Kang, and she has been taken to him for interrogation. The others discuss what to do. They were supposed to destroy Kang's army here and set off their time bomb but without disrupting Kang's timeline by alerting him to their presence before he actually meets Avengers for the 1st time in Av#8. But She-Hulk uses her clever lawyer brain to point out that depriving him of this early power base will change his future anyway - which is what the whole plan is.

Freed from indecision the 4 kick butt and rescue Nadia. However Kang and his elite guard aim their super-weapons at them - until the actions of the Egypt team cause those very weapons to disappear. Iron Man zaps Kang, the Avengers finish mopping up and Wasp flies the time bomb to complete the energising of the time tether.

Future-Vision gathers the teams together and sends them all (including himself and current Vizh) to the end of time where Kang's fortress explodes and he has been reduced to a powerless man with a funny mask. The Avengers intend to imprison him.

But then other incarnations of Kang appear 1 by 1:- Scarlet Centurion, Immortus then Dr Doom. They start blasting individual Avengers into nothingness. Sam-Cap can't explain to Iron Man how they can exist after Kang's future has been disrupted. (But then how come Kang is still there in a fortress at the end of time?) Also they didn't even know Doom was a Kang.

Eventually only Giant-Man is left. But he still has the alien device from Sacniaa - which he seemingly miniaturised and slipped into a pocket (something which Henry Pym didn't start doing until his Dr Pym days). Now he restores it to size and uses it to steal Kang's future. The other 3 enemies vanish, and Kang is sucked into the machine.

The rest of the Avengers reappear. Future-Vizh uses the device to wipe the 2 old teams' memories when he sends them back to their times. The current team leave the device with Kang and his future trapped inside in the possession of future-Vizh. And he sends them home with their memories intact.

But as a side-effect, for some reason, the grave of Avenger X has been moved from the woodland where the Frightful Four created it at the end of the recent Av #5.1. It's now in a basement of Parker Industries' Baxter Building where the Avengers are currently based on the top floor.